Covid-19 personal account: when a loved one tests positive

As of August 24, South Africa had registered just under 610,000 positive Covid-19 cases. It's hard to get one's head round that number, but Biznews staff member Nadya Swart has a much more personal way of navigating the disease. Her father tested positive for the virus and her family are now living through the surreal experience of socially distancing themselves from someone in their own home. The process of testing, and some of the confusion around that, are now also a reality for Nadya. BizNews is hoping that Nadya's father's determination will get him through this safe and sound! – Renee Moodie

Covid-19: a personal account of living with a loved one who has the virus

By Nadya Swart

I was in Cape Town with my brother when we heard about the first person to test positive for Covid-19 in South Africa. It felt strangely surreal as I sat there picturing a contagion taking over our world. At the time, however, the idea didn't seem to have the potential to become our reality.

I came back to Pretoria to stay with my parents for the lockdown. I remember walking into their room on the first morning of the national lockdown and all we could do was laugh in disbelief at the absurdity of how quickly the world had been turned upside down. We tried our best to keep our collective spirits up in those five weeks. Old-school 1,000 piece puzzles made a comeback and we waited eagerly for our turns to do the grocery shopping – just to grab our chance to get a glimpse of the outside world.

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